A new scam making the rounds that you and your family should be aware of. It's a scary one because it preys on fear and uses some pretty sneaky tactics. The DeKalb County Sheriff's office, along with law enforcement agencies nationwide, is warning everyone about scammers pretending to be police officers over the phone to steal your money.
Here’s how it works: you get a call that looks like it's from a local law enforcement number—that's called "spoofing." The person on the other end claims to be a sheriff or deputy and says they've found a package with your name on it. Inside? They say it's filled with illegal stuff like drugs, weapons, or a suspicious amount of money. Then comes the threat: you're going to be arrested unless you pay a fine immediately.
They'll demand you pay up using methods that are hard to trace, like sending cash, depositing money at a Bitcoin ATM, buying gift cards and giving them the numbers, or using payment apps like Zelle, Cash App, or Venmo.
Even if they use a real officer's name, or the caller ID looks legitimate, it's a scam. These scammers are good—they might even have some of your personal information, like your address, to make the call seem more believable.
Here’s what you need to remember:
• Real law enforcement will never call to threaten you with immediate arrest or demand payment over the phone to avoid jail time.
• They will never ask you to pay fines with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or payment apps. Real police and courts have official ways of handling fines, and it's never like this.
If you get a call like this, the best thing to do is hang up immediately. Do not call the number back. If you’re concerned or want to verify, look up your local police department's official number online and call them directly.
Help protect others by reporting this scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.